Great Lakes
Created | Updated Oct 20, 2010
The Great Lakes are a group of five very large bodies of water located on the border between the United States and Canada (except for Lake Michigan, which was unlucky enough to get stuck entirely in the US). And they aren't called "Great" for nothing! With Lake Superior as the largest body of fresh water in the world, these are truly big lakes! They contain something like 25% of all the fresh water in the world, which is quite a lot of water.
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The five lakes are, in order of size (large to small), Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. The first four surround Michigan's penninsulas on all but one of each of their sides. All five lakes together with the St. Lawrence River form a continuous seaway stretching from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic. This seaway is great for commerce, allowing ships from other countries to come and go as they please at such indutrial centers as Detroit and Chicago.
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The Great Lakes are also a great tourist attraction, allowing swimming, beaches, and other seaside activities without some of the oceans' inconviniences, such as salt water and sharks. Though I haven't looked up the actual figures, I <i>do</i> know that even relatively small lake-side towns, such as South Haven, experience huge crowds in the summer tourist season, and hundreds of people on the beaches every day (or at least every nice day). Another popular activity at the lake is the use of small sailboats, watercraft, and other boat-like devices.
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Another interesting feature of the Great Lakes is the large number of lighthouses surrounding them, especially in Michigan. These lighthouses, originally created for the purpose of helping navigation (as in, making sure boats don't just plow right onto dry land), have become sadly obsolete with the advent of GPS and other navigational aids. However, they are still a great tourist attraction, with hundreds, if not thousands, of people coming to look at them every year. They are also viewed as important historical sites.
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There are many advantages to having the Great Lakes around, including commerce, tourism, nice scenery, and the assurance that you can get a water bottle when you need it. However, even such natural wonders can get a little cranky sometimes, which shows in the nearly astonishing number of shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. While not as many ships sink there now as in the colonial days, small boats will occasionally be lost, and even large ships don't stand much of a chance in the November storms on Superior (such as the Edmund Fitzgerald).
<p>
The five lakes are, in order of size (large to small), Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. The first four surround Michigan's penninsulas on all but one of each of their sides. All five lakes together with the St. Lawrence River form a continuous seaway stretching from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic. This seaway is great for commerce, allowing ships from other countries to come and go as they please at such indutrial centers as Detroit and Chicago.
<p>
The Great Lakes are also a great tourist attraction, allowing swimming, beaches, and other seaside activities without some of the oceans' inconviniences, such as salt water and sharks. Though I haven't looked up the actual figures, I <i>do</i> know that even relatively small lake-side towns, such as South Haven, experience huge crowds in the summer tourist season, and hundreds of people on the beaches every day (or at least every nice day). Another popular activity at the lake is the use of small sailboats, watercraft, and other boat-like devices.
<p>
Another interesting feature of the Great Lakes is the large number of lighthouses surrounding them, especially in Michigan. These lighthouses, originally created for the purpose of helping navigation (as in, making sure boats don't just plow right onto dry land), have become sadly obsolete with the advent of GPS and other navigational aids. However, they are still a great tourist attraction, with hundreds, if not thousands, of people coming to look at them every year. They are also viewed as important historical sites.
<BR/><p>
There are many advantages to having the Great Lakes around, including commerce, tourism, nice scenery, and the assurance that you can get a water bottle when you need it. However, even such natural wonders can get a little cranky sometimes, which shows in the nearly astonishing number of shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. While not as many ships sink there now as in the colonial days, small boats will occasionally be lost, and even large ships don't stand much of a chance in the November storms on Superior (such as the Edmund Fitzgerald).
